LOS ANGELES, June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) today announced it has entered into a sponsorship deal with Microsoft to provide music fans access to exclusive digital content when they download new customized versions of the recently launched Windows(R) Internet Explorer(R) 8 web browser. The deal designates Internet Explorer 8 as a sponsor of Nickelback's Dark Horse 2009 tour and Live Nation's The Bamboozle Music Festival.

Music fans who download Internet Explorer 8 at http://www.ie8-nickelback.comwill have exclusive access to a never-before-issued live version of Nickelback's hit single "Something in Your Mouth," along with behind-the-scenes videos of the band from the road, and a series of Nickelback Web picks of the week. The Bamboozle version of Internet Explorer 8 available at http://www.ie8-thebamboozlefestival.com/ will give fans access to frequently updated interviews from more than 50 Bamboozle bands, including All Time Low, 3OH!3, and We The Kings.

Microsoft introduced easy-to-use new features in Internet Explorer 8, including Web Slices and Accelerators, that make browsing the Internet faster and easier. These are some of the features available in the new Live Nation custom browsers, providing music fans quick and easy access to find local on-sale dates and show times without multiple clicks across different web pages.

"Microsoft recognizes the power of tapping into Live Nation's integrated platform and unique ability to connect bands with millions of consumers through live music. Likewise, we recognized the value of leveraging the innovative, timesaving features in Internet Explorer 8 to provide a positive experience to our music fans through the optimized browser," said Russell Wallach, President of North American Alliances at Live Nation. "This relationship utilizes our artists, festivals, and digital platforms to connect fans with exclusive content from artists they love with this new customized browser."

"Our customers have told us that entertainment is one of the big draws for being online, and they want a browsing experience that makes that content more personal and easier to access," said Amy Barzdukas, General Manager for Internet Explorer at Microsoft. "We are excited to work with Live Nation to provide an exclusive entertainment experience for our customers that builds on the unique features in Internet Explorer 8."

Nickelback views the Internet Explorer 8 customized browser as an opportunity to get closer to fans: "We are always interested in delivering our music to our fans in brand new ways."

The Live Nation-optimized Internet Explorer 8 browsers for music fans can be downloaded at:

Live Nation's mission is to maximize the live concert experience. Our core business is producing, marketing and selling live concerts for artists via our global concert pipe. Live Nation is the largest producer of live concerts in the world, annually producing over 22,000 concerts for 1,600 artists in 33 countries. During 2008, the company sold over 50 million concert tickets and drove over 70 million unique visitors to LiveNation.com. Live Nation is transforming the concert business by expanding its concert platform into ticketing and building the industry's first artist-to-fan vertically integrated concert platform. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol LYV. For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.livenation.com/investors